Megaman X: Present to Past
by Kyrial
Summary: A new group of hunters wants X to help them out, and secrets to his past unveil themselves. Updated New chapter, sorry for taking so long!
1. Prologue

I decided to reevaluate my chapters here, so this is what I got now. Sorry if any of you liked it better the other way, I thought this would help a lot. This is my own side-story for the characters, and if you don't like custom (a.k.a. fan-based) characters, you're pretty screwed, cause there's a lot of them in this.

Megaman X: Present to Past   
By: Kyrial   
Prologue 

This is the rundown of my own characters, created to help out my story, and to let loose my creative juices. Unfortunately, those juices will end up in your brains have you the will or enthusiasm to read the story. I apologize to you all for that. Anyway, here's some things that have to be told:

Characters 

**Arturo**- Leader of the Lost Island Research Facility. (Check the next section) He looks almost identical to Signas, except he has deep-water purple armor. His background is unknown, even to his Captains. Though he is naturally calm, and collected at even the most dire moments, his anger is none to be tested. He may not make that great an appearance until later in the story, but he will play a part.

**Shift**- Leader of the 1st Unit Reconnaissance team. Her appearance is near human, save for the immensely bright green hair. She's slender, standing 5'6", weighing close to 140 lbs. solid. She wears normal black jeans, and a pink tank top. Her skin is slightly tan, and her eyes are a beaming hazel. Shift is an Intelligence Officer, mostly working in a lab rather than out in the field. As such, she keeps to herself and seems to care very little about things.

**Salvo**- Leader of the 3rd Unit Artillery. Salvo is a big, and I do mean BIG, reploid. He stands almost a foot shorter than X, and is close to twice as wide. His armor is neon green (yes, I know, I have a thing for green), and unlike most hunters, his armor is unique. It consists of polygonal shapes instead of the normal round armor everyone else uses. The armor looks flatly round, but the shapes help him to earn his name. He carries an armada of weapons, all imbedded within his systems. He runs almost 23 normal bullet-slinging guns, but he has worse. Running down his shoulders into his back are two massive cannons (similar to Vile, but Salvo's fold back) that double as Medium-Range Missile launchers. He has one last weapon, but that description will be saved for the story.

**Magnet**- Lieutenant of the 3rd Unit Artillery. Magnet is a purple-tinted red reploid, looking as close to a perfectly average one as possible. He wears no armor, but instead chooses to wear normal street clothes. He's the only one I haven't really described yet, so read into the story to get it.

**Larc**- Leader of the 10th Unit Grunts. He resembles Magma Dragoon in an exact way, save for the insanity. The armor he wears is battle-scarred, with trails from bullets and blades of all kinds. He's a rather decent man, leaving things to humor instead of the violence he's accustomed to dealing out.

**Tread**- Leader of the 8th Unit Assault. She wears a dull pink armor with painted on tire marks wrapping around her. She commands the Ride and Chase Armor unit. She stands even with Salvo, and has the weight in front to keep her from falling off her Chase Bike. That's not to say she's fat, by the way. You know what I mean.

That's it for the moment for custom characters. I'll update this section as I come up with or have to introduce more. Here's the last thing you need to know for the story-

**Lost Island**- After the Incident in X5, a group of wayward hunters found themselves stranded on a chunk of land that had been separated from the explosion of the Colony crash. Fortunately, there was more than enough for them to work with, and eventually they worked a home for themselves. In time, they became a Research Facility, and the incidents of X6 helped to fund them. Now that they've gotten in touch with the MHHQ, they're working toward establishing their place in the MH publicity. Lost Island itself is nowhere to be found by normal means due to it's awkward coming about. The island hasn't been fully explored, but that's soon to change.

This is everything to date that should help clarify things about the story. Oh, and here's my Disclaimer- I unfortunately do not own Megaman X, any of the characters related to it, or even the pieces of storyline attached. I do however own the characters described in this chapter, so if I catch any of you stealing my characters, I'll make sure you dislike the rest of your writing careers. That's the nice of it. Anyway, hope you enjoy the story!


	2. Beginnings

**Present to Past**

**By: Kyrial**

"Double or nothing" X growled.

He and Axl had decided to take the same day off and just hang around Headquarters. It had seemed a decent enough idea at the time, though X re-thought it after the incident with Zero's hair earlier that morning. After the 10-minute chase through the floors of HQ, they hid in a hangar bay and began to play cards with the technicians and mechanics. X, as it seemed, was losing tremendous amounts of credits to none other than his pistol-wielding partner, Axl.

"X, buddy, calm down" Axl chuckled half-heartedly. "It's not like you're going broke or anything. You've got more credits saved than our slightly-fearless leader, Signas, for Creator's sake!"

"That's not the point, Axl. I've got an issue with losing, and this is just getting to me now. I don't think I've ever done this poorly at cards."

After the comment, X took of his helmet and sat it on the chair next to him. His spiky black hair jutted upward the moment it left his head. He eyeballed the crew he was playing with. Axl, the black and red armored hunter that served in the 17th unit with him, Douglas, the mechanic that developed most, if not all of X's new weapons and armor, and a few of the technicians that worked with Douglas. This crowd could have torn down and rebuilt the entire HQ within hours if they'd felt the need, and X was proud to have them on his side. At the moment, however, he only wanted them to drop over from sickness, and fold their hands.

"Hope this hand works out better than the rest of them have" he muttered to himself.

Douglas, his semi-round form slumped into the chair he had gotten, looked at him and smiled. "Commander, I don't think anyone here has ever had the kind of bad luck you got today."

A laugh came from everyone present, and even X smirked. It did seem odd that his luck would take a nosedive like this, considering the war they'd, yet again, brought to a halt.

"First off, knock off the 'Commander' stuff. But thanks for the enthusiasm."

"No prob' Commander."

"Didn't I tell you to stop calling me that?"

"Yea, but we do it anyway" Axl let fly. As soon as the words eeked out of his mouth, he held the hand of cards in front of his face, as though studying them intently.

"I didn't ask you, Axl. I know you won't stop doing it, most likely because you enjoy seeing it annoy me" X shook his head at the hunter.

"You're a perceptive one today, aren't you X?" came a voice from behind him. He knew who it was, and running wouldn't help. Axl looked up, his eyes went wide, and he went back to staring death into the cards.

As he turned his head, he wished he hadn't. Zero stood not more than 6 inches from X's arm, and he had a glare in his eyes that even the mighty Colonel would have backed away from.

"H-Hey, Zero. How's it going, buddy?" X asked with a child-like innocence. The smirks from the others came and went in a breath as Zero's gaze swept the crowd.

"Well, let me put it this way….." the leader of Special Unit 0 had a sharp edge in his voice that sounded unhealthy to anyone who knew him, but he maintained his cool as he spoke, "I got up this morning, had me a nice Power Drink, and went to get fixed up. As I stepped in front of the mirror to re-do my hair, I had to gasp. Why, you ask?" A tint of rage had begun to creep into his voice, and everyone in the room tensed. Before he spoke again, he thrust a handful of his long hair into X's face. "THIS IS WHY!" The gorgeous blond hair that had been known throughout all of the Maverick Hunter Headquarters, even in the ranks of most Mavericks, was now a chrome-tinted white.

X had to really suppress the laughter he wanted to unleash, but he feared for his life if he did so. The rest of the hunters, save for Axl, began to spew reasons for their sudden departure, and soon the room was silent, a fuming Zero waiting for a response.

"Well, with all due respect to the lov- I mean, uh, great hair you had, this color isn't too bad on you, Z."

"Yea, man, you gotta let it go. It's not like you can't just change it back, ya know?" Axl spoke for the first time since Zero had arrived. Now he wished he hadn't.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, JUST CHANGE IT BACK? THIS IS YOUR FAULT, AND THE COLOR IS LOCKED IN, THANKS TO _YOU!_"

"I didn't do it on _purpose_, geez! I just wanted to see if you'd flip or not, and apparently, you have. I'll change it back as soon as Alia gives me the codes!" Axl slunk back into his chair, crossing his arms. His pistol rested in it's holster, but the end clanked off the seat of the chair. He looked down at it, and un-holstered it to sit it on the table.

Zero was about to start throwing a string of obscenities toward Axl, when something came to mind. His face went back to his normal care-free one, and he almost smiled as he spoke.

"Alia was in on this? That makes things different. If you'd have told me that from the start, I might not have freaked about it."

"Wait, Axl, you didn't even tell _me_ she was involved!" X croaked, looking surprised that his "girlfriend", as the two hunters with him chose to call her, would have thought of something like this.

"I didn't think she wanted me to say anything, why?"

"Well, I'd have told you not to. You really don't know, do you?" X questioned, the newer member of their team staring at him as though he were speaking Greek.

"Well, if I knew, would I have done it for her?" Axl asked after a moment. He glared back and forth between the two older Maverick Hunters, the two oldest that he knew of. From all that he had been told by the HW, these two had been around since _before_ the first Maverick War. His creation had only been a decade or two back, but what they had said was that X and Zero had to have been at least 150 years old. It intrigued him, and thus, he had joined up with them.

Zero glanced at X, who gave him the same "do you think we should tell him?" look. Zero nodded, and looked back to Axl.

"The thing is, Alia and Zero have a thing going back and forth. Ever since he found out about my liking her, and her returning that feeling, he's been messing with her. He's pulled so many pranks on her that she though someone was out to get her. Truth is, he just wanted to see her stress. Well, I guess she finally figured out who was doing it, and this is how she planned on getting back at him" X spoke, with Axl beginning to smirk wildly. He continued, "The first prank he pulled was just a shock pad on her seat. He had it set to go off every time a Hunter called base. It was actually pretty funny."

Axl had to restrain his laughter, though he knew the rest would be worse.

X finished telling him of the pranks Zero had pulled, from the shock seat to a less-than-wonderful message on her answering machine from a movie rental place asking for their adult film back. He'd even gone far enough to switch her wardrobe while she was gone for a day, leaving her with only a short, see-through green skirt, and a tube top that made her breasts look as though they were falling out. She'd been angrier than Zero had been a short time ago, and hadn't let go of it for weeks.

"So she just neglected to mention why she made so quick a suggestion, and just happened to have her hair-color kit with her?" Axl inquired, a smile spread across his face.

"That sounds about right" Zero replied, a smirk starting to creep across his face. He shook his head, and finally smiled. He pulled a handful of hair around to look at it.

"Well, I guess it really isn't that bad, but I hadn't expected it. Since she thinks it'll get to me, I guess letting it would just make her happier" the crimson hunter spoke to no one in particular.

"You're right, Z, 'cause you know how she is" X chimed in.

"Well, time to think up a new prank. Hey, Axl, you want a part of this one? X never helps out, what with Alia being his woman and all."

Axl glanced at X, who was now staring daggers at Zero. "Yea, I'll help. Just let me know when you've though of something to do."

Zero punched X playfully in the arm, and the three of them let out a long laugh. As Zero found a seat, the mechanic crew waddled back into the room, looking to see if the argument had died out. Since no one was dead, and they seemed to be laughing, the crew decided it was time to try to take the Commander for some more of his credits. Everyone took their seats, and Douglas brought out another for Zero. Special Unit 0's leader sat and pulled himself to the table, asking to be dealt in, and what game they were playing. Little did he know what the game was about to become.

………………………………………………..

A loud shattering sound echoed through the control center for the training room, and a purple-tinted red reploid rocked in his seat, eyeing the monitors. As the sound dies out, he picks up a microphone and hits the comm. button on it.

"Salvo, keep the explosions to a minimum this time, would ya?" the deep crimson reploid asked.

"Yea, as soon as you let me know the specs on that shot, Magnet. I need to know how to tweak it, or I may end up blowing _your_ face off next battle, and not the Mav's" Salvo replied.

"Look, man, you should know I have no idea what this crap means. You shoulda waited 'til Shift got down here, she's the only one who gets this stuff" replied Magnet.

"Alright, I'll be out in a minute. Try to get Shift on the comm. and bring her in, if ya don't mind."

"Not at all, my trigger-happy partner" Magnet snapped back with a smile. He hit his internal communications and began turning through channels until he got Shift on the frequency.

"Hey, our nuclear friend is in the chamber again. He always asks the same thing, and I'll be damned if I'm learning to understand what these readouts mean. That's your field, Shift."

"Yes. I approximated that the neanderthal had begun testing his newest play-thing. I was trying to locate the Maverick Hunter Headquarters, once again. We need to leave today, you know that?" Shift replied. Her figure was slender, showing almost no signs that she was a reploid and not fully human. The only thing that gave her away was the glowing green hair that fell perfectly upon her shoulders. She stood close to 5'6", and her slightly tan skin shown through her pink tank top. Her hazel eyes gazed at the monitor she sat in front of, only a floor above the training room that had just been through another of Salvo's tests. It amazed everyone that he had never blown a hole in one of the walls.

"Yea, I know we do. You really think this X character is going to come back with us?" Magnet replied.

"It eludes me as to whether he will choose to or not, but with the information we have, I suspect he'll have more than enough reason to."

"Good point, Shift. Well, can you at least get down here and let him know what's going on with his new toy, so I don't have him breathing down my neck all day?"

Shift gave a half-hearted chuckle. Salvo had always been impatient when it came to his weapons, and no one put him off long enough for him to start guessing about them. Bad things happened when he guessed about things.

"I'll be right down. I found the MHHQ, so we'll leave as soon as I'm done with you two. Let Arturo know that we'll be leaving at 1200 hours."

………………………………………………..

_"Alia, the situation has been compromised. The virus hit the ventilation system, so we're going to have to… retire… all of the reploids here" _X whispered into his comm. unit.

_"Drat. I'll send Axl in to help you, if you need it."_

_"No dice. There's too many of them near the entrance, he'd be overrun before he got in. I'm going to use Douglas' new weapon system, and see if I can knock them all out."_

_"Let me know how it works out, he'll want to know."_

_"No problem."_

X cut the comm. link and backed up against the wall. He'd hoped for a peaceful day, opting to go out and spend time at the shopping center. Of course, his hopes had been dashed upon the rocks when a Maverick showed up and sent the Sigma Virus into the ventilation system, then left the scene. It had been a new Maverick that X had never seen before, but it was fast. Lightning fast. He'd only caught a glimpse of it as it ran straight past him and out the front door. Now, he had to find a way to gather all of the infected reploids together to use his new system.

"It figures. My second day off couldn't go as well as I want, or even as well as the first. Well, back to work. Now where to do this…."

The idea came quicker than he'd anticipated. He dashed out around the corner of the clothing store he'd ducked beside, and started shouting at the reploids tearing apart the center. They lifted their heads, eyeballs blazing red with the virus, and began to run after him. He continued on, yelling and leading a growing group of reploids behind him. As he found what appeared to be the last of them, he headed for the fountain that served as the focal point of the mall. Thundering footsteps echoed behind him, keeping his mind sharp. Though he was good, this many would be able to tear him limb from limb if they got close enough.

"Well, here goes nothing!"

X stopped dead, and spun on his boot. He aimed his buster upward, making a quick judgment in the distance and arc of his shot, then let loose. A small black sphere lobbed forth from his arm, dropping into the middle of the mass of reploids bent on tearing him apart. As the ball shattered upon the floor, it let loose a torrent of electricity. It seemed as though lightning arced from body to body, branching off after every hit. Within a 20-foot radius, every reploid began to spasm violently, the sound of metal joints and bones snapping and cracking. X stood dumbfounded, looking at the mass of bodies piled upon each other. He couldn't believe one shot had taken all of them down. He thoughtlessly hit the button to his comm. link and began speaking.

_"Alia…Situation handled. We need a cleanup crew down here, and maybe a repair team."_

_"A repair team? What for?"_

_"Just send them. I'm coming back to base. Have Douglas somewhere I can find him, will you?"_

_"Sure, X, but what should I tell him?"_

_"I don't care, but make sure he doesn't go anywhere."_

_"Yes sir."_

With that, X punched a few buttons on his left arm pad, and teleported back to Hunter Headquarters.

………………………………………………..

"Arturo, is it?" Signas questioned the reploid in front of him. The hunter he spoke to stood Signas' height, and looked almost exactly like him, save for the deep-water purple look to his armor. He and three others had teleported into HQ and begun to question where Commander X was. It was evident that they were themselves hunters, but he didn't know from where.

"Yes, sir. I am the commanding officer of the Lost Island Research Facility. I suspect you do not know of our predicament, or even our base, for that matter, so please, let me explain."

Signas motioned for him to sit down, taking up his chair as a sign of faith. Arturo sat, and continued speaking.

"We at the facility are, for the most part, hunters like yourself. We, on the other hand, focus mainly upon the research behind the Sigma Virus and the Mavericks that have been encountered. Our predicament, as I mentioned, is one of importance that we feel needs immediate attention. We have decided to convert our facility into a new Maverick Hunter Headquarters, due to the recent upward fluctuation of Maverick incidents in our area."

Signas took in the information with a profound interest, and nodded approvingly.

"I take it you want Commander X to help out with the construction and oversight of the renovation?"

"On the contrary," Arturo spoke, "we only need him to confirm some of the information we've recently come across."

Signas' eyes widened a bit, then snapped back to they way they were.

"Information? Such as?"

"I'm sorry to inform you that we cannot reveal that. Commander X may at a later date reveal that if he so wishes, but we feel it pertinent that he be the only one to know at this time."

"I can respect that. You do realize that I will not, nay, cannot, entrust X to you with only that to go upon?"

"Yes, we do. I brought along three of my finest officers to find X and inform him of the situation. If he chooses to go with us, would you stop him?"

"No, I would not," Signas replied. He meant it, too. There really wasn't anything that he could do if the Commander chose to go with them. As big a friend as X was to him, and even though he ranked higher than him, he couldn't tell him no. He doubted anyone in the HQ could.

"Very well. I will wait here with you, then, if you don't mind."

"Of course not. It gives me time to find out about your operations on Lost Island."

………………………………………………..

"Commander, I really don't see why this poses a problem."

"Douglas, reploids had to be taken in and repaired for broken bones, and shorted-out circuits!" X almost screamed. "What in the world do you think I do out there?"

"My sincerest apologies, Commander. I hadn't realized the output the weapon carried would have that kind of effect. Please, let me have the program chip back, and I will fix it immediately." Douglas' apology _had_ been sincere, and he really _hadn't_ known it would do that. Still, X had the urge to let loose with another outburst, but kept his anger in check.

"Douglas, I know you meant no harm by it, but you should really test these programs before I have to use them in actual combat." X tapped his buster's panel, popping it open. He pulled a chip from the inside of it, and handed it to Douglas, closing the panel once again.

"Take care of that _immediately, _got it?"

"Yes, sir!" Douglas snapped off a picture-perfect salute, and hauled off the other direction. X wouldn't be seeing him again for a few days.

Shaking his head, X turned and headed for the elevator. Passing rooms along the way, he couldn't help but think '_what next?'_. He reached the elevator, and hit the down button. He needed rest. The silver doors slid open, and he stepped in, almost bumping into Zero.

"Oh, hey Z. How was your day?"

"Hey X. My day? Slow, but interesting. Axl and I had been looking through new recruit papers, seeing if any of them would be qualified to rank either 17th unit or Unit 0. None."

"Really? Wow. Usually we have at least one or two."

"I know. There's something going on down in the conference room, I hear. Some hunters from another facility, apparently looking for you."

Confusion set in on X's face. "Me? Why me, or didn't you find out?"

"Nope. Nothing came my way for information."

X punched the floor button for the second floor, where the conference room was. He'd needed rest, but it would have to wait. If he let this go, he'd wonder about it all night, and not get any sleep. He really needed to recharge, but he liked sleeping more.

"Thanks. I wanted to find out what was going on anyway." Zero replied to X's non-existent statement.

"Let's see what's up."

………………………………………………..

Shift sat at the end of the long table, looking back and forth from Signas to Arturo. The two looked too identical to not have the same creator. She'd have to investigate that at a later date. Right now, she was focused on meeting Commander X. The information she had for him was too valuable for her to not be impatient.

Salvo sat across from Shift, and could see her eyes bounce from individual to individual in the room. He shook his head slightly, and went back to polishing the cannon on his left shoulder. He had to pull the chair back from the table another foot, for his bulk kept him from pulling tight against it. His neon green armor shone brightly in the HQ lighting. Unlike normal Hunters, his armor was more flat-surfaced, with polygonal shapes instead of the round, circular armor they wore. Beneath most of the plating that made up his armor, however, was what gained him his name. Magnet, who now sat next to him, had always said that he bore too many guns. He ran a systems check often, and only counted upwards of 20 guns. That, however, didn't count the dual plasma cannons his shoulders carried, nor the medium range missile launchers they doubled as. It also didn't include his, what he liked to call, 'safety measure'. He'd have to show off to Commander X if he came with. Salvo stood from his seat, stretching his limbs out. He stood a head shorter than Signas, averaging 5'5", and had always caught it from both his partners for being the shortest. He rubbed the top of his helmet, which bore the greek symbol for 'Alpha'. He'd never told anyone why.

Signas' comm. unit beeped, and he raised it to his ear. After a short statement, he clicked it off and looked to the group.

"Commander X is headed our way. He should be here momentarily."

"Very good. We need to be on our way as soon as possible. No offense intended, but we really must get back to governing our facility." Arturo stated.

"I understand. This bunch of Hunters isn't the best to leave alone, either."

Signas and Arturo let out a small laugh, and the door to the conference room swung open. X stood in the doorway, with an intrigued Zero standing behind him. Zero tapped him forward, and he stumbled into the room, bowing quickly to Signas, and taking a seat in between Arturo and Magnet, who had sat bolt upright in his seat when the door opened, afraid he may miss something.

"I was told I was being looked for. I take it these are the people looking?" X asked, a blank look on his face.

"Yes, this would be them," Signas replied, "and they have something to propose to you." He looked over at Zero, who still stood in the doorway. "Zero, I see no reason why you shouldn't be here. Have a seat."

Unit 0's leader nodded and took a seat close to Shift, who he'd been eyeballing since he saw her. She, on the other hand, hadn't given him as much as a glance. Instead, her attention had been focused on X. Zero did not let this go unnoticed.

"All right. Here's the deal, X" Signas started, "This here is Arturo, the commanding officer." Arturo nodded, and X returned it. "Over here we have Magnet, Salvo, and the female is their intelligence officer, Shift."

"Nice to meet you guys… and gal." X responded.

"Excuse my curtness, Commander, but we have limited time to be here, so may I get skip the formalities, and get straight to the point?" Shift had leaned forward and spoken directly to X, who was now focusing on here intently.

"Honestly, I wanted that from the start. I need to recharge, so forgive me if I seem .. curt, as well." He flashed a slight smile, then returned to his blank stare.

"Very well. We need your help. We've come across a relic that we feel only you can identify. We know for a fact that it dates back to the same time as when the good doctor found you. We believe it is related to that, actually. Unfortunately, we cannot make any further investigations into the relic without your help."

"So you want me to help you figure out what this thing is, because I was the first reploid in this era?" he asked with unblinking forwardness.

"In a manner of speaking, yes. If the Commander allows, I will further explain. I am unsure as to the trustworthiness of some present here, so do forgive me."

It took X a moment to get what she meant. "Oh, yes, explain. Zero is my most trusted friend. Anything spoken here will never reach another's ears due to him."

Zero smiled at Shift's glance toward him. She shook her head so slightly it seemed as though it only vibrated, and looked back to X.

"Very well. The 'relic' I mentioned is actually what we believe to be a workshop of sorts. A laboratory, if you will, that seems similar to the one you were found in. We think, and hope, that we can find something as important as you within it's walls, but we cannot gain access."

X was dumbfounded. Another lab, like the one he was found in? Was that possible? It seemed so, now.

"What's keeping you from gaining access?" Signas spoke up.

"In all honesty, the lock on the entrance is too old for us to open. It's a lock unlike anything we've ever seen. We estimate that since it seemed to be as old as the Commander, his systems might interpret it better than ours. This seems to be our last option, since everything else we've tried has failed."

Silence. Shift and the rest of the room waited for X to speak, and he waited for his processor to sort the information that had just been dumped upon him. A lab that dated back as far as he did, and no one but he could gain access to it. This brought up questions he'd never thought of before. What if there were another reploid like him? What if Dr. Light had other such creations, and left no mention of them in the lab X was found in. He pondered upon it for moments, which led to minutes, and the room stayed silent the entire time. He came to a conclusion.

"Shift… you say you think I can interpret the lock?"

Shift cleared her throat, though she had no reason to. "Yes, I believe so. It seems you would be the only one able to, Commander."

X looked at the table, then glanced around the room. Everyone awaited his decision.

"Alright. I'll go, if Signas allows it."

"Permission granted, X. You have time off from your duties here until you help them with this ordeal." Signas replied quietly.

"Thank you, Signas. Arturo, fellow hunters… I ask you one thing…"

The room went dead silent again.

"…can we leave in the morning? I'm still pretty tired." A smile spread across his lips, and he slumped into the chair as if to emphasize his point.

Everyone laughed and Arturo said it would be fine. The Research Facility crew got lodged in the Hunter sleeping quarters, and X went to his room. His last thoughts before nodding off were of another reploid like himself. Tomorrow would bring answers to his questions.

…………………………………………………

Morning had not come swiftly to X. His dreams, nightmares really, had been of his finding, the first few precious moments after he was released from the capsule. The face that he beheld had been the first he knew, and he wondered to himself if it had been the same for another reploid like him. He would find out soon enough. Waking early, nearly before sunrise, he set out to find someone that would be awake. He knew where to find one.

_"Hey Douglas"_ X called over the comm. link, _"you awake?"_

Douglas, who'd been working through the night to fix the lightning round he'd developed, looked up from his welder and cut the flame. He pushed the button on his wrist communicator and held it up to his head.

_"Yea, I'm awake, Commander. Something you want?"_

_"Yea. Stop calling me 'Commander', and be ready to give me good news on that weapon. I'm coming down."_ With that, X cut the link and headed for an elevator. Turning the corner, he ran smack into Salvo, sending him reeling backward. Salvo grabbed his arm and steadied him.

"Sorry about that, Commander X. For my size, I don't make too much noise. I apologize." The green Hunter bowed his head quickly, and stepped to the side to make way for X.

"No worries, Salvo, and please, don't call me 'Commander'… it bothers me. I hate being ranked higher than other Hunters. It make me feel like I'm more important." X shook his head.

"You are, Comm- I mean, uh, X. Say, was that you on the comm. link talking to Douglas?"

The question caught X off-guard. He hadn't thought about anyone else being awake at this time, save for Alia, but she wouldn't have worried about his presence on the comm..

"Yea, it was me. Why do you want to know?" he asked inquisitively.

"I want to meet him. I think I may have some things he'd like to check out. Plus, I've got an idea I could use help with. He seems to be the one to talk to."

"I'm headed there now, so just tag along."

"Thanks, Commander. Sorry, X."

X just sighed and shook his head, starting toward the elevator again. He hit the down button and waited, Salvo standing silent behind him like a bodyguard. He looked back at the reploid, his large frame almost intimidating, if not for the permanent smile on his face. The doors slid open, and X stepped in. He turned around to see Salvo only peeking in through the door.

"Something wrong?"

"Umm… yea. This elevator won't hold me and you together. I weigh a lot more than the limit it says." Salvo looked almost embarrassed. X wondered how he could possibly weigh that much.

"Alright, we'll take the stairs then."

"No sir. Take the elevator, I'll meet you down there. It's the Basement floor, right?"

X nodded. Salvo returned it, and headed toward the stairs at a trot. The doors to the elevator slid shut as the green hunter escaped view, and X sighed. That was a heavy reploid, if he couldn't take an elevator for fear of something happening. As the lift descended, he heard footsteps from somewhere, keeping pace with the descent he was in.

"What in the world?"

The doors came open again, leading into the mechanic's hangar, and X ducked out quickly. He jogged over to where Douglas was sitting, a smile on the designer's face.

"Hey Commander. I have the specs on the downgraded version of my lightning round. You want the data, or you want the 'prints?"

"The data will suffice, Douglas." X popped his buster panel open, and slid in a chip that Douglas handed him. He knew instantly that the weapon design had been modified drastically. It now produced a much lower voltage, with a longer lasting effect on whatever it hit. This would keep innocent reploids gone maverick from having to foot repair bills.

"Good job, Douglas. Oh, one of the new hunters from the Research Facility on Lost Island is on his way down here. I'll wait 'til he gets here, but I think he wants to talk with you."

"Well, is he green, big, and looks to have more weapons than our defense force?" Douglas replied, almost staring through X.

"Yea. How'd you know that?" X replied, dumfounded.

"He's standing behind you."

X snapped around on his heels to come face-to-throat with Salvo. The large hunter grinned sheepishly, and stepped around X, shaking hands with Douglas and introducing himself.

"Douglas, nice to meet you. I'm Salvo" the emerald warrior stated.

"As you know, I'm Douglas. What can I do you for?" Douglas replied.

"Actually, a few things. I have a few new weapon ideas that just won't seem to work out, no matter how I plan them. I was wondering…"

The conversation began to get extremely technical, so X stepped out. Back in the elevator, he decided to go find Arturo and Signas. It was about time they left for Lost Island.

……………………………

"He shouldn't be long. Alia says the motion detector in the elevator went off again, and I'm the only one other than Douglas that would be up at this time." Signas announced. He sat in his chair, looking across the table to the commanding officer of his visitors.

Arturo nodded respectfully. "Would that be because you take the minimum rest you need, or because you are so dedicated to your work?"

"In all actuality, it's because I made a promise a long time ago to see all the sunrises I could, because any one could be my last."

A silent agreement came from Arturo, who set his hand upon the table, leaning back in his chair. He sat quiet now, waiting for the Commander to grace them with his presence. He needed not to wait long. The door opened, and X stepped through, closing it behind him.

"Signas, Arturo. I expected the two of you would be here" the azure hunter stated.

"You know I'm not one to miss the sunrise, X" Signas replied coolly. "If you expected otherwise, I'd worry for you."

The sentence brought a laugh from both X and Arturo. X seated himself across from the Lost Island officer. He looked intently at the navy-purple reploid.

"Assuming Shift meant what she said, we should be going, shouldn't we?"

"Yes, we should. I apologize for the rush of things, but you can imagine how our facility is without its leaders there." He smiled lightly.

"If it's anything like this place, you're right, I can imagine." X shuddered. He knew what went on between hunters when no commanding officer was present for a period of time. He only hoped it wouldn't happen again. Sitting back in his chair, he nodded to Arturo, who in turn depressed the comm. button.

_"Alright, Salvo, Shift, Magnet, it's Arturo. Get back to the conference room. We're leaving. Commander X will be joining us."_

A duo of _"Yes, sir!" 's _came back across the link from Shift and Magnet. Arturo knew what that meant.

_"You too, Salvo. I want you here _immediately_. Stop bothering their mechanic with your inventions."_

_"But, sir-" _the heavy reploid answered, his voice stopping as Arturo cut the communiqué. Both he and X shook their heads lightly. It took mere minutes for the trio of hunters to get to the conference room, and even less time for them to leave coordinates to the facility. Signas sent the information to Alia, who fed it into the HQ computer system. X could now teleport himself back and forth between the bases. He felt a little relieved at hearing that.

"Alright, let's go. No more wasting time." Shift said, leaving a trace amount of annoyance in her voice. "We've been away long enough."

The group disappeared as quickly as Signas waved them off.

……………………………

The Lost Island Research Facility was alive with excitement. All of the hunters, save for the new recruits and medical staff, had rushed to the control room, where Hermes, the operator, welcomed the group of wayward reploids back. A mass of the hunters squeezed through the doorway, only to be shoved back through by Salvo.

"All right, yes, we're back, and Commander X is with us. Give him time to meet you on his own, will ya!" Salvo growled at the anxious hunters. He slammed the door behind him, leaving the others to introductions.

Arturo nodded to Shift, then took his leave. Once out of the room, Shift took it upon herself.

"Commander, this is Hermes, our facility's operator. Hermes, front and center!"

"Yes, ma'am!" Hermes replied, standing and stepping in front of X almost as quick as X looked toward the operator's seat. The reploid, a half head shorter than X, was a slender figure of a reploid. His smile was calming, and the helmet he wore signified his name. It was a light brown, with two white metallic wings jutting up and back from both sides. X smirked at this, and looked him over quickly. He was probably one of the lightest hunters in the group, looking as though he had no armor on.

"Commander X, it is a pleasure to meet you. I am Hermes, as Shift has told you. I'll be your operator." Hermes bowed, one of the things he thought only he did, but smiled wider as X returned it.

"Nice to meet you, Hermes. Forgive me for seeming rude, but I have other things to attend to. Shift, if you don't mind, I should get to know the rest of the hunters I'll be working with."

"Of course, Commander." Shift said, motioning him toward the door. X nodded to Hermes, who took his seat back at the operators desk, and stepped out.

"Shift, how many divisions do you have in this facility?"

"Sir?"

"How many different hunter units do you have? I know Salvo would probably be in an artillery unit, but for the rest, I can't place a one of you. Well, I know you're intelligence, so… recon unit?" X asked intriguingly.

The two walked down corridor after corridor, passing metal doors on both sides. Some were labeled 'Lab', some had the 'Hangar' label on them, but most were without signs. They finally came to an elevator, and stepped in. Shift pushed a button for the third floor, and the doors closed.

"Here's the layout. We have my unit, as you stated, a recon unit. 1st Unit Reconnaissance. Salvo leads the 3rd Unit Artillery, with Magnet and few others. Hermes is on his own, being the operator. Arturo leads the facility, as you know. What you don't, and who you don't, you'll meet in a minute."

She looked directly ahead of her, toward the doors. As they slid open, she stepped out, her pace that of a march. X followed behind her at a comfortable distance, coming around a corner, and stopping abruptly.

"What's up, Shift?" he asked.

"You'll meet most of the unit leaders here. I must see to other matters. I trust you can introduce yourself without being too taken aback by their actions. Good luck, Commander." With that, Shift walked off. He watched her round a corner, and then shook his head. Brought in to help, and dropped off like a sack of bricks. It figured.

As X pushed the doors open, he caught a whiff of something outrageous. It smelled of boot-leather and burnt toast. He quickly shut down his olfactory systems. Loud conversations took place all over the room, tables sparsely occupied by hunters. He'd walked into the mess hall, and had caught the attention of everyone within it.

"Hey, it's the new Commander. That's supposedly the oldest reploid to date" he heard someone in the back say. It took mere moments for the room to turn dead silent as X stood there, surveying the room. This was what he used his rank for.

"Alright, all of you! I'm Commander X, but you can all call me X. Now that you know my name and rank, I want to know yours! All of you, fall in, front and center!" X bellowed through the room, having way too much fun with the situation. Every hunter stared for a split second before catching their thoughts and falling in. It was a jumble, but they managed it effectively quick. Lines of reploids had formed, unit leaders in front, with the unit behind them. X walked to the far right line, leaning toward the commanding officer.

"Name, rank, and unit, now" X stated, simply letting the blank stare do its work. The reploids voice caught for a second before he spoke.

"Sir, Ghost, Captain, 12th Unit Stealth, sir!" Ghost replied, cool-faced. He was the height of X, with a blinding white armor that almost glowed. His eyes were themselves white, and it seemed to X that the armor shimmered in the light.

"Stealth Unit? You look like you'd attract more bullets than a target would."

"Yes, sir. My armor is adaptive, sir. It changes with what I feel, sir, as well as the conditions of my mission." Ending the sentence, his armor slowly faded to a midnight black, his eyes changing with it.

"Very nice, Ghost. You can go back to what you were doing."

"Thank you, sir." He saluted, albeit awkwardly, and took his team back to their table.

The next few company leaders had less of an impact on X. He'd met Larc, leader of the 10th Unit Grunts, who reminded him of Magma Dragoon. His armor was scarred, trails of bullets and blades left within it. X knew if he wanted someone to back him up, this would be the person to ask. Next he'd met with Tread, female leader of the 8th Unit Assault. Her armor was a dull pink, with tire marks wrapping itself around her torso and arms, painted on, thankfully. Her figure was average, looking slightly up at X as he asked her the same question he asked them all. She appeared to have no weapons on her person, and he could guess why. She led the unit that used their Ride Armors. He smiled, thankful they had the force to back up whatever attacks came their way. As X came upon the last line, he saw no commanding officer.

"Hunter, where is your Captain?" X asked the soldier in front. As the reploid stepped forward to answer, X heard the doors open to the mess hall.

"That'd be me, X."

X turned to see Salvo step through the door, and walk over to take his place in front of his unit.

"Sir, Salvo, Captain, 3rd Unit Artillery, sir."

"Thanks, Salvo. Alright, all of you, back to what you were doing. Oh, and before you get the wrong idea about me, this was just some fun on my part," X said with a smile, "and it seems you guys are all fit to be great hunters. I hope to work with all of you at some point."

The group laughed, realizing he'd been pulling their leg. As the rest of the group went back to their tables and resumed their conversations, Salvo walked up to him.

"Hey X. Try not to get on these guys bad side, would ya? They don't tend to keep around Commanders that screw with their fun."

"Thanks for the warning, but the first one who thinks he can take me down will be sorely mistaken. Don't get me wrong, they could, but they'd find themselves run through by a saber. Zero is protective beyond belief, Salvo." X smiled, heading for the door. The emerald hunter followed, chuckling.

"I don't doubt that. What I came up here for, though, was to let you know Shift wants you in Lab 2. Down a floor, and the first left from the elevator." Salvo stopped at a door, and hit the button to open it.

"Thanks, man. I'll get over there now."

Salvo nodded, and stepped in the door, closing it behind him. X headed back for the elevator and made his way to the lab.

……………………

………

"Alright everyone, I called you here for a reason, and if you don't shut up, I can't tell you what that is" Zero shouted. The group in the room got quiet, quickly.

"Where's Commander X?" someone in the group asked.

"That's exactly why you're here. X has been given time off to help out some other hunters on the Lost Island Research Facility. He'll be back sporadically until his job is complete, so Signas has given me Commander status for as long as X is gone." Zero smiled, but inwardly cringed. He had no idea what X went through as Commander, but he'd soon find out.

"Axl is my second in command, so if you can't find me, find him. Alright, I have information for all of you…"

The meeting went smoothly, save for the questions about X's 'job' on Lost Island Zero knew would come. He offered no explanation other than he himself didn't know. Quite honestly, he didn't.

……………………………

"Shift, you wanted me?" X questioned.

"Yes, I did. Here's the information about the lab we referred to. Maybe you can make something out." Shift replied, pushing a lap-top across a lab table to him. The picture on the screen showed a giant metal doorway, with rock embedded into the walls around it. It looked almost exactly like the lab he'd come out of. There was a small, rectangular electrical box to the right of the door. He looked intently at it before asking.

"What's that?" He pointed to the box, and Shift leered over his arm to see.

"That's the control panel for the door. The lock I mentioned is contained within it."

"This is what you think I can interface with?"

"Correct. We hope, and some pray, that you can."

"We'll find out tomorrow, then, won't we? I want to go there."

Shift looked at him in astonishment. She had expected his reaction to be different, to be of wonder, and possibly apprehension. He seemed intent on going about his job right away.

"Very well. I'll gather the team, and we'll head out in the morning. Are you sure you want to go first thing? Shouldn't you let us try to figure out more about this lab?"

"If you haven't come up with more by now, you most likely won't." X stated, and raised himself from the table. He began walking toward the door, looking over his shoulder as he came to it.

"What floor's my room on, and what room's mine?"

"Floor 3, and yours is labeled 'Commander's Quarters'." She whispered.

"Thanks. I'll see you and the 'team' in the morning. Be ready for trouble. I have a bad feeling about that lab."

Shift returned to her lap-top, and X resigned to his room. Bad feeling or not, he'd find out what was in that lab in the morning.

XxXxXxXxX XxXxXxXxX XxXxXxXxX XxXxXxXxX XxXxXxXxX

There will be more action, trust me. I'm a little slow as of late, but I did change up things, for those of you who read the story the first time. I'll have Chapter 4 up shortly.


	3. Entrance

About farkin' time for an update, huh? I've been off on some craptacular adventures in life, so writing was one of the farther things from the first on the list. However, I did take some time to go looking through the X games storylines, to make sure I could get at least some things right. Characters I've forgotten about will be remembered, and things I've felt missing will be taken care of. Enjoy, my avid readers. (And those of you who just happened to see what this was about.)

XxXxXxXxX XxXxXxXxX XxXxXxXxX XxXxXxXxX XxXxXxXxX

Lost Island was a humid, tropical island that sat atop, most people guessed, an island. What they didn't know was where it was located, hence, the name. X had decided to have the team travel across land to the laboratory that he was to investigate. His 'team' consisted of himself, Shift, the ever-cold scientist, Salvo, the massive weapon-on-foot, and Larc, the battle-scarred Grunt Unit captain. Larc's unit trailed only slightly behind on foot, which was decent considering the Commander and Captains were traveling by ATV's. X had suggested the excursion by foot, as it were, for this very reason. Even Hunter Headquarters had limited information on Lost Island, so this would grant them insight to the inner workings of it.

"This is a beautiful island" he whispered to himself.

From the Facility, they'd headed south, following a low mountain line that seemed to wind along the coast. In front of the mountain range sat a windbreaker of jungle. Short, green pines and furs lined the base of the mountain, making the appearance more of a majesty than had been noticeable from the confines of the Research Facility. The team kept the mountain range to their left side, and a batch of the Grunts stayed a distance behind and to their right. Off past the Grunts, X took note to a valley that interceded a lake; small considering it was located on an island. The lake seemed near crystal blue, and X wondered if he might be able to enjoy an afternoon watching the nature around it. Hope sparked that this adventure would leave him time for that. Ahead, in front of him, Shift slowed her ATV to a creep, the others doing the same.

X slowed and came up next to Shift. "What's the problem? Are we at the lab?" he inquired, surveying the area. It seemed exactly like the rest of the trip had been- mountains and trees, bright blue sky, and not a moving being in sight. Shift, however, looked worried.

"I don't know. Excuse me a moment" she replied, stopping her transportation completely. She pulled out a lap-top from a side compartment of the vehicle, and opened it up on the front of her seat. X took this as a blow-off, and rode up to Salvo.

"Salvo, what's going on here? I asked Shift, and she doesn't know, or doesn't want to talk to me. Can't understand why, what with her chatting up everybody else…." he let the sentence end itself.

Salvo had to grin before responding, "That's Shift, all right. It seems we've come into contact with something that wasn't here last time. The lab is only up around that bend, but we got readings from Larc that says we got company near the base." He pointed up ahead, where the tree line turned west. X knew that this was bad, if the readings were Maverick. If they'd found the base, there was no telling what they'd do with the contents. That is, if they could get to the contents.

"Got it. Send Larc back to me, and tell him to bring 3 Grunts with him" he said. Salvo nodded and signaled the order. Moments later, Larc popped up next to X, almost startling him. The Grunts took another moment, but were standing in line next to their Captain, awaiting orders.

"Larc, do me a favor. I won't say this is an order, because it's dangerous. Take these three, and swing a wide arc out around the bend, you nearest the tree line. If there's any Mavericks up there, they'll notice these three first, and you'll be able to bail them out if something comes up. I want all information sent back to both Shift and I, got it?" he rattled off the request as though he'd done it a hundred times. Truth was, he almost had.

"Yes, sir!" a quartet snapped back. Before he had time to look back to see Shift, they were gone.

Taking a quick glance at the blue sky, the lake he wished to visit, and the trees he hoped would aid him, X sighed, and resignedly started back toward the intelligence officer.

"Shift, tell me what the readings are. I don't care if you think I don't need to know. This could be dangerous, and I want to keep anyone, I mean _anyone_ from getting injured." He halted the ATV next to her, and stared her down, waiting for a response.

"Fine" she said, turning the lap-top toward him. The line graphs and vector models made almost no sense to him, and he looked back up at her.

"So, what is it?"

"It's a defense system that activated somehow while we were gone. Apparently the lab has it's own AI system that we hadn't noticed before, due to it's ancient style of craftsmanship. I can't understand how it booted up, though."

"I bet I can" X's reply came out louder than he'd hoped. He looked at Shift, who eyeballed him as though he were a new super-program she had to analyze.

"Care to tell me?"

"No."

X turned the vehicle around and headed back to Salvo, leaving the Int. officer to gape open-mouthed at his response. He waited on his ATV for a grueling time before word came back to him from Larc.

_"Hey Commander, you'd better come take a look at this. The area's secure, though I'm unsure if this thing should be considered hostile."_

"What do you mean, 'unsure if it's hostile'? Is it attempting to harm you?"

_"No, but it won't let us go anywhere closer to the lab. I don't know how, but it doesn't move, and we can't move toward it, no matter how hard we try."_

"We'll be right there."

X started forward, followed by the others, creeping up behind him at an exact pace. As they rounded the bend in the mountain range, they saw what Larc was talking about. A large, black reploid, looking more like the skeleton of a reploid than a completed one, stood nearly 9' tall in front of the double doors to the lab.

"The Creator be damned…" Salvo uttered, gawking at the huge thing. They'd all come to a stop not more than 15 feet from it, where Larc stood waiting.

"I tried talking to it, and no response. As I said, I tried going toward it, and nothing. It's like there's a force-field there nothing I have can pick up on. The thing hasn't flinched since I saw it" he said lightly. He stared at it almost as intently as the rest of them, but glanced around at his troops. They hadn't the faintest idea of what this was, but their weapons held steady on it. If it moved in a threatening way, they'd blast it to bits.

"Commander," Shift spoke up, "why don't you try getting closer? It might be on a closer energy signature to you than us. That might give you the edge on getting us in."

"I'll try that. Keep me covered, and if anything happens, inform HQ." He nodded to Salvo, then stepped down from his vehicle. He proceeded to walk slowly toward the statue of a guard the lab had in place. He closed a five foot gap between the skeleton reploid and himself before he was stopped dead in his tracks. He put his hand up, trying to push forward, but found himself blocked, everywhere. As he slid his hand along the invisible wall, he heard a sound come from the black reploid. Squeaks and hisses spewed forth from it, making everyone in the vicinity flinch. X pulled his hand back, but dared not move. The head of the reploid came up, looking directly at X.

"SYSTEM RECOGNIZED. AUTHORIZATION IN PROGRESS." The reploid spoke in a monotonous, mechanical voice. It seemed that the reploid was in fact a mechaniloid only doing it's programmed job. Apparently, X had triggered something by touching the force-field, and now it seemed as though he might be able to gain access to the lab.

"This should be interesting" X said, keeping an eye out all around him. He had the buster program ready at a thought, but he wasn't sure this old thing would go down from it. Moments turned into minutes, while everyone waited for the thing to speak again. At last, it did.

"AUTHORIZATION DENIED. ACCESS DENIED."

The group's heart's sank a bit. The mechaniloid began to lower it's head, but stopped mid-process, raising it back up.

"AUTHORIZATION OVERRIDDEN. SYSTEM CODE-NAME 'X' GRANTED ACCESS."

X had to think before he instinctively stepped forward. He turned to look at Salvo, then to Shift. "I'm guessing this means I'm the only one going in. Keep the computer linked to my video program, that should keep you informed." Shift nodded, punching keys on her lap-top, and looking back up at X, worriedly. He shook his head with a smile, then turned and headed for the laboratory doors. He felt no resistance this time.

Shift watched from the lap-top, which was now running the video from X's viewpoint, as he came upon the box that controlled the door. X opened the front panel, and pushed a few buttons to see if anything would work. Only when a loud voice echoed through her ears did Shift know how he was to figure the controls out.

"LOCKING MECHANISM INTERFACED WITH DIRECT AI CONNECTION. CONNECT WITH LOCKING MECHANISM." The mechaniloid seemed to be programmed with instructions for X, and it was helping. X pulled his Buster panel open and unhooked a wire from within it. He pulled it out a little farther, and inserted the end into a similar plug in the control box. Whirring and clicking ensued, then a small green light turned on at the top of the control panel. X took it on faith, and replaced his wire, stepping back from the panel.

"Well, here goes nothing," X muttered to himself. A gust of hot, rusty wind ripped across his face as the double doors slid open, leaving him to wonder exactly how long this had been closed off. If the air came out like this now, the mechaniloid had to have come from another source. The lab couldn't have opened on it's own, even with an AI program controlling it. As the doors stopped at a rough 8 feet apart, X glanced once more over his shoulder and proceeded into the lab.

The walls inside the doorway were silver, and showed no signs of tarnish or rust, as the doors themselves did. That, too, appeared to be only on the outside. Fresh air hadn't hit this laboratory for years, X could tell, as his olfactory sensors were almost climbing out of his body. The hallway, a decent 10' wide by 10' high, went on for close to 100 yards. The walls held no sign of anything, literally. The dull silver became as monotonous as the mechaniloid's voice had been. At the end of the hall, a normal size door was shut in front of him. The door seemed to belong on a century- or two-ago house, not a lab. The knob on it was simplistic, a short metal handle that when pushed downward pulled the stopping mechanism out of the doorframe. Easy enough, but X could not find the will to push the handle. At long last, he set his hand upon it. Pushing downward, he pulled the door toward him, and let out a gasp as he surveyed the lab's contents.

"What in the hell?" Shift almost yelled. As soon as X had entered the hallway, the signal she got from him had faded, and the farther he walked, the worse it got. By the time she'd even remotely noticed he'd stopped, the signal was totally gone. She slapped the monitor of her lap-top, knowing better, but hoping it would help nonetheless. She shook her head and slammed the thing shut, tossing it back into the compartment on the side of her ATV. It seemed as though she'd be waiting like the rest of them.

"So what's up, Shift? That's the second time I heard you yell at that mechanical piece of junk in about a minute" Salvo questioned.

"We lost the signal, so even I have no idea what's going on. He could be in trouble for all any of us know, and there's nothing we can do about it" she replied, annoyed. She sat in the seat of her vehicle and placed her head in her hands, staring toward the lab doors. She might be here a while.

Salvo looked intriguingly at the mechaniloid. He wished he had something that big backing his unit up at times. Maybe when this assignment was over he could talk X into letting him tinker with it. He doubted it, but this was too good to not try for. As he found a spot to sit, Larc accompanied him, eyeballing both the door and the mechaniloid.

"That's a big toy, Salvo. I don't think they'll let you have it if they know what you're thinking. Hell, I don't think _I'd _let you have it if I knew what you were thinking" Larc snickered. Salvo had to chuckle at the comment.

"No, I highly doubt you would" Salvo replied. The two conversed for a long time, trying to keep each other off of the obvious worry that consumed them all. If X got injured, or worse, it'd be their hides, and they knew it. Not to mention they had respect for the azure hunter, and the thought of his demise threatened to increase their paranoia. It was a long time, close to an hour or so of Salvo and Larc's obvious stupid humor before they knew anything about what had taken place inside.

"Shhh! I'm getting something again!" Shift threw a rock at Salvo to quiet him. She'd pulled her lap-top back out some time ago, deciding to finish other work while they waited for something to happen. Now, the screen showed solid black instead of the static that it had. Salvo jogged over to her, and looked at the monitor.

"Doesn't that mean we still don't know what's happening?" he asked. His expression played out confusion and worry all in the same moment.

"Yes, but it also means that we know he's somehow on his way out of there" she replied, looking toward the lab doors. Salvo's gaze followed hers, and they stared momentarily before glancing back at the monitor. Nothing changed. Or so it seemed. A _tap, tap, tap_ could be heard, the sound growing louder, signifying footsteps coming this way.

Running back to Larc, Salvo yelled "Larc! Get the Grunts ready! Something's headed this way!" He took position behind his ATV, lowering a shoulder cannon and pointing it at the door. He nodded to Shift, who just sat quietly on her vehicle. All eyes were now focused on what was headed their way.

…………………………

The morning meeting hadn't g one as well as planned, and Zero was obviously irritated.

"Axl, could you go talk to Alia and find out who deals with the pay situation? I don't want to answer any more 'Aren't we getting paid today?' questions, or I'm going to teach some hunters the art of Seppuku" Zero groaned. He'd only been Commander a day and already wished X was back. He'd heard more complaints and aggravating questions than should be allowed by any individual. He and Axl walked down HQ main hallway toward the control room. The hallway branched off around the control room, leading to two small alcoves where the elevators were placed. At any given time, both alcoves could be said to have traffic close to that of Giga City's main highway. Though there were 18 different normal elevators, there was close to 150 or more hunters residing in the HQ. It made for an odd assortment of parties, late night city travel, and one hell of an HQ-wide get-together.

"Yes, sir. Mind if I ask why you decided to stand in for X? You knew it wasn't as easy as he made it look, and I doubt anyone would fault you for letting Douglas or Alia take care of it" Axl asked quietly.

"I know, Axl, but if I take command for a while, maybe Signas will ease up on me when I pull another stunt on Alia." Zero stopped suddenly. "Speaking of which, I haven't told you what I was planning, have I?"

Axl grinned evilly. "No, sir, you haven't. I take it you'd like the help, then?"

"Of course I would. I don't think I could pull this one off by myself anyhow." Zero smirked, then put his hands on his hips and chuckled. "I can't believe I didn't think of it earlier. Axl, I'm gonna need you to get Douglas, and get some parts for me. I need a Metool, a surveillance camera…" The conversation continued into the control room, and both hunters were laughing uncontrollably by the time it ended. This would, by far, be the best prank Zero had pulled to date.

…………………………

"Alright, stay where you are!" Salvo shouted over his ATV. The shoulder cannon on his right side was down, fully extended, and fully charged. It was also aimed at the door to the laboratory, where a black reploid had appeared carrying X.

"Salvo, be calm! Commander X can't be harmed!" Shift yelled as she ran to where the emerald hunter was positioned. She took a good look at the reploid who held X in his arms. He stood even with her, and was in full battle gear it seemed. His helmet bore a dull yellow crystal, and both sides of the helmet swooped up and back over his head, making it look like a crown. His armor was pitch black with orange trim around the edges, and his joints and limbs were bare, almost like X's. His armor flared out on the shoulders, giving him a more sinister look. His face wore no expression, and he seemed to have no trouble at all holding X bridal-style for a lengthy amount of time. When he'd emerged from the lab and took a look around, he had stopped dead in his tracks and hadn't moved since.

"Reploid! This is Shift, Captain of the 1st Unit Reconnaissance team from the Lost Island Research Facility. You hold our Commander in your arms, and we want him back. We wish this to be as peaceful as possible, so anything you can do to aid us would be appreciated." Shift had stepped out around Salvo and his vehicle, Salvo readjusting his aim to make sure he could nuke the freak if he tried anything. Shift's gaze held on the reploid, and she saw him nod. She sighed.

A gruff voice came back at her, seemingly too low to hear, but everyone did.

"I will not harm your Commander, but please, lower your weapons. I will explain everything to you all on one condition- I wish to come back with you all. I have been locked in this lab for over 30 years, and I wish to be somewhere else."

Shift looked shocked, but understood. She waved down everyone's weapons, and they complied, hesitantly. Salvo folded back his cannon and stood up, taking place next to Shift as she steadily walked toward the reploid. The black figure slowly walked forward, carrying X softly. X was alive, but seemed to be completely out of it. His eyes were open, but it was as if he had become catatonic. Shift looked at him, then up at the figure. They stood no more than 4 feet from him.

"I am called…. Well, I was called Bass in my previous life. Since it seems I'm starting over, I would appreciate it if you gave me time to think of an appropriate name" he said calmly.

"If that is what you wish. You know that we cannot trust you until we ascertain the information from our Commander, correct?" Shift asked cautiously.

"I know. All I ask is to be given a room, and some decent food. Lock me up or give me a bodyguard, I don't care." His answer seemed genuine.

"Very well" Shift replied, turning back to Larc and his troops, "Everyone! Let's get back to base, on the double!"

…………………………

A shriek came from the control room of MHHQ. Zero and Axl twisted their index fingers in their ears in mock-deafness.

"Oh my god! He's so CUTE!" Alia screamed, wheeling around in circles. In her hands was a Metool, but not just any Metool. This one had a comm. unit for it's helmet, and it was the color of Alia's armor. Zero had told her it was to make up for his past pranks on her, and promised that he would stop now that she knew about them. She'd accepted the gift happily. Extremely happily.

"Zero, you are completely forgiven, and I'll give you the codes to change your hair back right away!" She hugged Zero tightly before going back to making baby noises at the little ball of reploid. Zero smirked in Axl's direction when she turned her back, but kept his expression smiling when he spoke.

"Ok, Alia, but you don't have to worry about it now. The hair's color isn't that bad, now that I've had it a while. I'm just glad you're happy. Well, we have work to do, so we're gonna get out of here. Keep him safe, and try to get on that payroll thing, will you?" he asked.

"Of course, Commander." She stood, holding her Metool in one hand, and saluted with the other. Zero smiled, returned the salute, and waved Axl out the door before stepping out himself. When the door closed completely behind him, Zero chuckled heartily.

"Isn't this a little too much, Zero?" Axl inquired.

"It's never too much, as long as it's fun" the crimson hunter replied. He smiled and shrugged. "Well, back to work. We'll see how they're doing later."

"That should be an interesting thing…" Axl said quietly.

…………………………

"I made my promise. You will all be informed, though with the Commander still out like a light, I see no point in doing so now. Please, just let me rest a day or two, and we'll see if your Commander has awoken" Bass said. He sat in one of the seats at the conference table, close to the head seat. Arturo sat silent, contemplating what he'd been told about the incident. Magnet, Hermes, Tread, Larc, Salvo, and Shift, of course, all graced the table with their presence. Bass had been brought in with Salvo's cannon at the back of his head, and now had to sit with it pointed at the right side of his face. The hunters were going to make no mistake about this reploid.

Arturo looked around the room at his Captains, and wished X were awake to tell him what had transpired. Unfortunately that wasn't the case.

"Well, Bass, it seems you have lodging until we can clear this matter up. I expect you to cooperate with everyone here, but if anyone gives you grief, send him or her my way. I ask of you one more thing. Shift, as I well know by now, is going to ask to study you. I ask that you let her. Since you're such an old model, it is amazing that you've stood up to the years without anyone's help." Arturo left it hang there, staring at the black reploid with interest.

"Very well. I could use some company anyway, but do me a favor, ok? Stop calling me 'Bass'. I told you, that was who I used to be. I'll inform you of my new name once I figure it out" he replied.

A smile spread across some of the hunters faces as it did Arturo's. "Done. Is there anything anyone else needed to ask about?" Arturo inquired. The room remained silent. "Good. Now, you all have your assignments, and I'm sure our new guest would love to get to his room. Salvo, see him to it."

"Yes, sir." Salvo stood, saluted, then held his hand toward the door in a 'this way' gesture toward the midnight figure, who stood and followed the emerald hunter out the door.

"So, now that I've got my bodyguard, is this going to be me talking, and you not replying?"

Salvo looked over his shoulder, smiling. "No, but there's a problem with me talking to you. It consists of me trusting you, and unfortunately, I don't yet. I don't know what happened in that lab, but until I hear from X, you are suspect number one, my friend." He turned back to where they were going. The elevators. The two rounded a corner and Salvo stopped, pushing the button for 'up'. His traveling companion stood next to him, humming a tune he didn't know, just looking around. Salvo began to wonder what was in this guy's head. Here he was, standing in a facility full of people who want to study him, who don't trust him, and just plain don't know him, and he's just whistling away, staring off at things. He'd finish that thought later.

"I'm thinking something ancient… like Hades… or Anubis… hmmm…" the black armor clad figure said quietly.

The elevator bell dinged and the doors slid open. Salvo stepped through, followed by his companion.

"Thinking of a new name?"

"Yes. Any ideas?"

"What are you good at?"

"Blowing things up, really. I haven't had a lot of time to do otherwise. Well, there was those 30 years I spent modifying myself." He shrugged.

"Then why not something related to that? Like… Well, truth be told, I have no idea." Salvo looked at him, a smirk on his face. "I honestly don't know what to call you."

The elevator stopped, the doors opening again. Salvo stepped out first, pushing through a few hunters who were waiting patiently for the elevator. His partner followed, stepping around the hunters, bowing politely. They headed down a hallway, dull blue walls with fluorescent light bulbs overhead. One of the bulbs flickered as they walked by, passing doors left and right, each with it's own identification on it. Every door had a letter and three numbers, signifying where in the facility it was located, and who's it was. The room they stopped at was marked 'L337'.

"I take it this is my board?" The question was pointless, as he had already begun to step into the room. It was bare, a single bed, a regen rube, and a small desk with a lamp. The walls were white, but dull. It looked as though no one had been in here for weeks, save for maybe the cleaning crew, and that was pushing it.

"Not much to look at, huh?"

"Never is until you get settled in. In all honesty, I hope you join us." Salvo smiled, then pulled his door shut and walked off down the hallway toward his own room.

The black reploid chuckled to himself, and peered out his door. No one was anywhere near here.

_This should be easier than I thought. With the modifications Dr. Light tried to give me, I'm surprised I'm still myself. The 'good' doctor will want to hear of my progress. I'll wait until the morning to inform him._

He stepped over to his bed, and rolled into it. It had been a while since he'd been so comfortable. Maybe it wasn't such a bad idea to stay here a while. He could get his job done just as easily with any amount of time, but his superior wanted it done, and soon. Megaman X would be out of the picture for a few days, so he had time to work. His last thoughts as he pulled the covers over him were of his blaster discharging at point blank range against Megaman's face.

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Maybe not the best writer in the world, but at least this update was pretty good. I hope, anyway. The action didn't come as I wanted it to, but now maybe it'll spring out. At least things are getting interesting. Please, for the love of cheese, review! I need reviews or I will explode! I do that sometimes…. LOL. Anyway, someone let me know how I'm doing. Next chapter- hopefully not this long to get done!


	4. Old Times

I've been away for a while because I've been moving, so I apologize to anyone who might have been hoping for a sooner update. This isn't the best story, I know, but I like writing it. I got onto a Megaman X kick a while ago and have been playing Command Mission for a few weeks now. I think I'm going to try and bring in some of those characters and story ideas, to spice up this story. I haven't looked at the reviews for last chapter, so I again apologize, I won't be answering anything until next chapter. Hopefully you enjoy this one though.

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"Roll, I'll be fine. Dr. Light redesigned _me_ for this, not you."

A short blue reploid with spiky black hair places his hand upon a female reploids shoulder. She turns her gaze downward, apparently to hold back tears. The blue reploid lowers his eyes, and steps back. He reaches down and picks up a helmet that had sat next to his foot, and places it on his head. With a quick glance, the female grabs him and hugs him tightly. A moment later, he breaks the hug and darts the other direction, obviously distraught, but with intent. A mist covers the ground and fills in on top of itself. Visibility becomes zero. A voice, recognizable as the blue reploid from a minute before, speaks clearly through the fog.

_Wake up, X…_

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"How's he doing, Shift?" the massive emerald hunter inquired, placing his hand on her sunken shoulder. From her appearance, she had no more sleep the night before than he did. She was slumped over onto her lab table, and had her head resting on crossed arms. She looked up at him with mouth parted, as though she hadn't the energy to close it. Her eyes had no luster as they usually did, and they had become a dull gray. Salvo cringed at seeing her like that.

Shift moved to a seated position, and rubbed her eyes. After blinking a few times, it seemed as though her eyes finally began focusing.

"Actually, more of his internal systems are up and running, but it still seems he's in a catatonic state. Well, I wouldn't say 'catatonic'… more like in a coma that he's on the verge of waking from."

Salvo looked at the bed that X had been placed on. His armor was stripped off, and numerous monitors had been attached to keep an eye on his vitals. Shaking his head at the thought of the great Megaman X being taken out, he stands next to the bed and rests his hand on the azure hunter's arm, eyes downcast.

"I think he'll be out of it by tonight, maybe tomorrow morning. I hope, for all our sakes… What's that Bass character up to, anyway?"

"He's being looked at by our doctors and mechanics. It seems he's got some systems that no reploid has these days. Somehow, they're _more_ advanced than what we have."

"How's that possible? Dr. Cain has adapted the systems he understood from X and updated them. That means we should be more advanced than he" her thoughts left off as she finished stretching from her wake-up.

Salvo nodded one last time before turning around. "I can't tell ya, cause they can't tell me yet. They said they'd run him through our combat trainer a few times, and see what he's capable of. From just their analysis, they say he could take down X. I don't believe it."

"Nor do I, but the analysis rarely comes out wrong. Maybe it's just because they haven't looked X over in a while."

"I hope."

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"Alia find out yet?"

"No, and it better stay that way as long as possible."

"No problem there, Z. We're the only two that know about it" Axl retorts, and the two hunters round a corner. Zero looks to have been run ragged, and it's only been a day since he's taken charge. Axl got smart, or so he thought, and got a clipboard and notepaper to keep track of everything going on. It has since filled up.

"You know, we've got more things going on in this place than I had thought. X has it rough. I'm done screwing with him, the moment he gets back, I swear it" Zero reiterates for the third time that morning. His now white hair looks to have just been combed down, for the ends splay out everywhere, and his armor has dulled down a shade or so, like a layer of dust has settled upon him.

"We've got to stop sometime, Zero. I mean, there can't be anymore things to deal with yet, can there?" Axl's hopeful voice questions.

"I'd tell you no, but I dislike lying to friends, Axl."

"Then what do you call what you're doing to Alia?"

"It's called payback. Haven't you ever heard 'Do unto others before they do unto you'?"

"No sir."

"I'll have to teach you sometime. Come on, we're almost there."

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"_Listen to me, you rotting corpse of a reploid! I want X dead, do you understand? Do not toy with him!"_ a very quiet, gruff, and angry voice came over a comm. unit.

"Doc, shut up. You know as well as I do that with Dr. Light's mods and yours, I can more than handle X and his friends. You just keep building that weapon of yours, and tell virus-face that he'll get his body in due time. I want to make sure nothing in this place survives when I'm done" Bass firmly replied, leaning against the wall next to his bed.

_"I warn you, Bass… neither 'virus-face' or myself have many chances left before Megaman X finally figures out who's been trying so desperately to kill him. After so many wars, and more than enough Mavericks, I highly doubt your capabilities against such an experienced foe. He's had dozens of years of fighting, and you've been locked in a lab. Pathetic. You will-" _The transmission cut short from a knock at the door.

"Yes?" Bass asked coolly.

"It's Salvo. I heard you went through the combat trainer earlier, so I picked up the analysis. I think both you and Shift want to see this" the hunter explained through the door.

"Got it. I'll be right down. I gotta put my armor back on."

"Don't take too long."

"Yes, sir."

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"This is what the analysis came out as?" Shift asked with a hint of amazement in her tone.

"Yea, and they say his adrenaline levels and power output never fluctuated" answered Salvo.

Amazement now consumed Shift's facial features. The two had the analysis papers scattered across her lab table, and were still waiting on Bass to get there. Shift had shimmied papers back and forth, comparing one to another ever since Salvo gave them to her. She appeared to have no idea what to make of any of it, yet couldn't keep from trying.

"Look, let's just ask him what's up with his systems. There's not a whole lot he can do against all the hunters here, so it's not like he can hide anything."

Shift looked at him with a questioning glare.

"You've seen this" she said, motioning to the papers, "and you don't think he could level this place by himself?"

Scratching his head, Salvo nodded in acknowledgement. He knew she was right, but no amount of proof would disdain him from knowing he had the most guns, and that always won. About to speak again, he had to stop himself as they heard a _knock, knock _on the door right before it opened.

"Hi. You wanted me here?" Bass redundantly questioned, a smirk on his face.

Shift stood, and realized now that in truth Bass stood a bit taller than she. The black reploid took a seat across the table from the hunters, and began going over his analysis report with an uncaring look.

"This is all you guys picked up on?" he asked.

"That's all our systems can pick up on. We've never run across anything we couldn't analyze before. I take it we missed something with you?" Salvo asked, with Shift left speechless. Her thoughts seemed to pour out of Salvo's mouth, and she thought that just maybe he wasn't as 'big and dumb' as she had originally thought.

"Of course there is. My systems inject my brain with a shot of Replidromine, and all the pain, smell, and touch systems go offline. It allows everything else to react much quicker than normally allowed. Plus, it helps when you aren't distracted by stray fire."

The lab went extremely silent as the two hunters glared at him in wonder. If their advanced computers couldn't even pick up on something as simple as that, what else had he at his disposal they couldn't pick up on?

"Wait, wait…. Replidromine? I've heard of it, but the chemical formula for that was lost when Dr. Doppler was killed. How did you come to be able to use it?" Shift sputtered as a rampant train of thoughts blazed new trails through her brain.

"Yea, that stuff was said to make the rep's who used it go mental, or end up killing themselves from psychosis. And you can make it naturally?" Salvo added.

"It's not that hard to do. I'll give you the formula later on."

Sliding the papers back to Shift, Bass stood and looked at the scientist and tank-of-a-reploid.

"If that's all you had to show me, I'll go back to my room now. Oh, but before I do, has X awoken yet?"

"No. Care to explain what happened to him yet?" Salvo replied, his anger flaring up again.

"Sure. I rebooted his old systems. Apparently it was too much information, and he went out like a light."

Both Salvo and Shift shot up, a cannon yet again aimed at the stranger reploid, and a hand against his chest.

"What do you mean, you 'rebooted his old systems'!" Shift yelled, her eyes now portraying the despair she felt for what might have befallen X.

"I mean exactly that. When X was freed from his containment unit, back when Dr. Cain found him, his systems started from scratch. New body, new mind. The systems you all know of X's, the ones he shows every time he speaks, blinks, or twitches, are all aspects of that new mind. I took note of this as soon as he entered my lab. When I tried to explain it to him, he wouldn't accept that fact, so I had to show him. I turned on those old systems… I gave him his old mind back."

Salvo's cannon could get no closer to discharging then it did at that point, but he refrained, only with the greatest of effort. Shift had leaned back against the edge of her table, her eyes downcast.

"So you mean to tell me he won't be X anymore? That he'll lose everything he's come to know since being found?" Salvo asked.

"No. He'll have all that information, but he'll have his old memories back, too."

Silence blanketed the lab once again.

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"Zero! Commander!" Alia yelled down the hallway. She carried her Metool in one arm, and a stack of papers in the other, running after the crimson hunter.

"What is it now, Alia?" Zero asked as he came to a halt. He hadn't even turned to look.

"I have information that we need to talk about, and NOW!" she snapped.

"Whoa, calm down" he said as he turned to look at her. Her face betrayed her panic, and his tone became serious very rapidly. "Tell me what's up, Alia, and we'll see what we can do."

"First off, thanks for the Metool. I removed the camera, and put an _actual_ communications unit in his helmet."

Zero had to cringe at the comment, but kept his face stern.

"Go on."

"Well, about an hour ago, it picked up a stray signal out in the middle of nowhere. I thought it was malfunctioning, so I tweaked it. That only made it stronger. So I kept at it, and I got the message. It was coming from area I-712-45.. out in the middle of the ocean!"

"That doesn't seem right, Alia. How can nothing be sending signals? And where are they going?"

"You think I'd tell you that part without knowing the answer? The signals are coming from _above_ sea level, which means there's something there, and as to the second question… they're going to the Lost Island facility" she answered, pushing the papers into Zero's hand.

With eyes wide, he scanned over them quickly, and looked at Alia again. They both nodded, and bolted toward Signas' office.

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"Look, I just do what I'm told, alright? Which means you gotta do what you're told, or it's my ass."

"Axl, I would, but this is against almost every rule us mechanics live by." Douglas, holding a blueprint of something odd and very complicated, answered smoothly.

"I was told to give that to you by _Commander_ Zero, and he says you have three days to get it done. If you want to complain, take it up with-"

Axl's sentence was cut short by a rapid beep on his comm. unit. He clicked the button and Zero came over before he had a chance to speak.

_"Axl! Get up here, we're leaving!"_

"Zero, what's up?"

_"I said get up here! Now, hunter!"_

Axl was at a full run before he even turned the unit off.

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"I want you to take care of this, and make sure Commander X is safe. If it took sheer luck to catch that signal, I want no contact between any of you and this HQ, understood? Who knows what kind of technology these people may have…" Signas said, dropping his gaze slightly.

"Done. We'll make sure nothing happens to the Commander, and you can be damn sure this 'Bass' won't be within 100 clicks of him" Zero retorted. Axl burst through the door just in time to be pushed back out by a shove from Zero.

"Mind telling me what's going on, now?" the young hunter asked impatiently.

"X is in trouble, and we're the rescue squad. Make sure your long-range comm. is off at all times. We're to have no contact with HQ while we're gone."

Axl quickly snapped off the unit, and followed Zero through the maze of hallways to the transporter room. As they traversed the HQ, Axl made sure to take a good look at the place, unsure of if they'd make it back. He always made sure to memorize the place before going on a mission, just in case he'd only see it again in his mind before he got deactivated. The slick metal walls, the break-proof windows, and the feel that hunters twice his age had walked the same hallways filled his mind. The transporter room, containing a simple computer console, and a large platform across from it, was probably the simplest of all in the behemoth HQ.

"The Lost Island facility, and now!" Zero snapped to the operator as he vaulted up onto the platform, Axl on his heels. Within moments, they seemingly vanished into thin air.

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"Zero! What are you doing here?" Salvo asked as a door blew open in front of him.

"Salvo! Where's X? Take me to him, now!" the crimson hunter nearly screamed.

"He's in the med. lab. Down that hall- oh, hi Axl. Ya know what? Just follow me."

It took about five minutes to reach the med. lab, and Zero was more than impatient. He was downright furious to find out his best friend and companion was in a coma, and no one knew why. Salvo explained everything as Zero and Axl stood over X's bed.

"So this guy is a powerhouse, huh? I want to meet him" Axl quirked.

"According to the analysis of his combat training, he could decimate most of the mavericks X has fought in the past within an hour" Salvo replied in an all too serious tone. Axl's expression changed rapidly.

"I don't care who he is, or how powerful he is. He's going to pay if X doesn't come out of this coma soon. I swear to the Creator that he will pay." Zero's face had turned a dark red, and his eyes were now a dark purple color. Neither Axl nor Salvo had seen or even heard about Zero getting this way.

"Yo, Zero. I say we go question this Bass guy, and find out exactly what he's talking about" Axl said after a minute.

"He's been in the computer room for a while now, searching through the history files to see what all he's missed in the last couple decades. I think he's up to something, but no one has caught him doing anything yet" Salvo chimed in.

"Well, I'm heading over to talk to him. Z, I'd really appreciate having you there in case things go sour."

Zero was still intently watching X. As he turned his gaze to Axl, he seemed to be lost in his own mind. His eyes were glazed over, and something about them made Axl take a step back. The blade-wielding hunter stood and walked out the door, not a word spoken. Both Axl and Salvo followed.

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"I do believe it's time to leave this place…" Bass chuckled to no one. He stood from the computer console he was at, and headed for the door. Just as he was about to open it, three bodies came through it toward him.

"Salvo, I see you're still keeping an eye on me. You, however…" Bass stated, looking at Zero, "must be the great and mighty Zero, leader of Special Unit 0, correct?"

The look he'd had a few minutes earlier was now gone, and he seemed to be fine.

"That I am. You would be Bass, and this is Axl. Now that that's over with, let's get to business. Have a seat." The tone was not of a request, and Bass knew it. He promptly took up his seat again. Axl also found a chair, but neither Zero nor Salvo made a move from where they were.

"I want to know exactly what, and why, you did to X" Zero stated bluntly.

"As I told lady Shift and trigger-happy Salvo, I rebooted his old systems."

"That I know. Now tell me the details that you didn't tell them."

"Ahh… Someone knows more than they let on. I take it you know what systems I'm talking about, then?"

Zero's eyes turned downward for a moment before hardening, and returning to meet Bass' gaze.

"No. I don't. But I do know that whatever 'old systems' are in X, they have something to do with his original creation. Since not even Dr. Cain knows about it, how do you?"

"Hahaha… Now you I like, Zero. Right to the point, and even asking the right questions. I know because I know who X originally was. I was created by one of Dr. Light's associates, and not long after X himself had been created. I believe that makes me your elder, Zero."

"You may be older, but I doubt any more skilled. Get on with it."

"Such impatience. Waiting is half the fun, don't you think? Of course not. To the point- X was originally created by Dr. Light not as a warrior, but as a companion. His original name was Rock, and he had a sister, Roll. Quite the lovely family picture. After one of Dr. Light's friends went insane, the lunatic took some of Dr. Light's plans for other reploids and created monsters out of them. They terrorized the town, destroying humans and reploids alike, only to rebuild them and add to their army. Dr. Light had to do something, so he upgraded Rock with a blaster and armor. He called him 'Megaman'. Now that I look back on it, it was a rather funny name, but it was also correct. He seemed to be able to take down all of the … what you would now call 'Maverick' reploids, and even ran the creator of them far from any civilization."

"X used to be 'Megaman'? Now that's something we've got to let him in on…" Axl chimed in quietly.

"Anyway, Megaman was the town's savior, and they praised Dr. Light and Megaman alike. Most of the town funded Dr. Light's research, since the reploids helped make life easier, and as we all know, humans try to make everything simpler so as to be lazier. But I rant. You want to know of Megaman. Dr. Light's old assistant, Dr. Wily, was the culprit behind the outbreak of the original Mavericks. He, as I said, was not killed, but ran out of town, to use an ancient cliché. He returned not too long afterward with a new group of mavericks, this time intent on taking down Megaman first, then ruling the world. It went the same as before- Megaman destroyed the mavericks, and again was praised. However, Dr. Wily was still alive, due only to his adept ability of escape. There were more wars between Megaman and Dr. Wily, some of them including Megaman's brother, Protoman. Wily had stolen not only the plans for his first crew of mavericks, but also the plans for Protoman. He created Protoman as Megaman's brother, in hopes that Protoman could gain his trust, and then betray him when the time was right. Dr. Light caught onto this however, and Megaman ran out Protoman just as he did Wily."

"Wait," Zero interrupted, "you mean to tell me X had a brother?"

"Not had, Zero, _has_."

The room went silent for what seemed an eternity.

XxXxXxXx XxXxXxXx XxXxXxXx XxXxXxXx XxXxXxXx

Ok, I apologize, but this chapter has to be cut short here. I'm lacking for ideas, so I decided to do a background on X, even though I haven't finished it yet. It's coming in the next chapter. Oh, and as for why it took me so long to do anything with this story- I moved, and it took weeks before I could set my computer up again. Then I got writer's block. Not a great combination. Now, I'm back, and things will get violent in this story rather shortly. I apologize again, this time for not responding to anyone who reviewed the last chapter or two. I'm still semi-lacking for ideas, but they seem to be getting better. Alright, hope you enjoy the story thus far, and the next chapter should be up in a day or less. Review this, please! Constructive criticism is what makes me a better writer, and I know you all want that!


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